Page 41 of War Queen
It was a violation of some kind.
The Bear had always been beyond his reach. This man, who had haunted him for so long. The only man he’d ever feared. Hated. Cursed. Resented.
Yet a man he now respected.
He dropped his hand to his side. The Bear would stay beyond his touch.
The head of the Northern Bear, its white fur splattered red, had been removed from the justice’s shoulder and laid on the ground under the slab table. Perhaps it was best that it die too, for no one else was worthy of it.
His gaze shifted to Salara, who only watched Mikael as he stood there. Her eyes were the bluest they’d ever been, against her red-rimmed eyelids overflowing with sorrow. The initial anguish had passed, and now she sat in the quiet shock of grief, watching. Was she looking for something within him? Pleasure? Victory? Relief, even?
She would find none of it. He felt none of those things.
Her lip trembled. It was the slightest of movements, but it called him. Quickly he stepped around the table to her side, pulling her up and wrapping his arms around her. She let out a sob and clung to him. He said nothing. There were no words. He only held her. Tightly.
They stood for a long time, until the dark of night came and he felt her weight heavy against him. Keepers stepped into the mortium—those responsible for preparing the bodies of the dead to pass their souls to the next life. They lit candles throughout the room to chase back the night, then stood quietly, waiting to care for the body of the justice.
“Let me take you to your chamber,” Mikael said softly. “You need to rest.”
“I can’t.” Her voice was barely a bird’s breath. “I can’t leave him.”
“The keepers are here. They’ll take care of him.”
Her head snapped up, and her eyes found them. She hadn’t realized they’d come in. “No, they can’t have him.” Her eyes pleaded as she shook her head. “They can’t take him.”
Mikael gripped her shoulders, making her look at him. “They won’t take him. I won’t allow it.” Then he softened his voice. “But don’t let him lie like this, in his own blood. Let them clean him. And we’ll stay.”
She looked at the justice on the table and wiped her face with her hand. Her breaths still filled the silence of the room. Finally, she nodded.
Mikael led her to a bench against the wall and sat, gently guiding her down beside him and putting his arm around her. He nodded to the three men in gray robes, who silently stepped forward. They pulled off the rest of the justice’s armor and cut away his clothing. A breathy cry escaped Salara as they stripped off the red-stained linen, revealing the deep wound to his stomach. Mikael pulled her closer to him. Two of the men brought a basin and started sponging the body clean, and one of the keepers prepared a needle and set to stitching the wound closed.
They worked with the care and reverence befitting a hero; that’s what the Bear was to the North. And now Salara would have to find a way to fill his void. Mikael would have to find a way to help her.
When the keepers finished, they draped a white cloth over his body and bowed to Salara before leaving in silence.
He looked down at Salara but didn’t dare suggest she leave again. “Has Adrian come?” he asked softly.
She nodded weakly. “Earlier, with my grandmother,” she whispered. “He’s not of right mind. Soren had to take him away.”
The brother of the Bear would be devastated, as he knew Salara was. “Do you want to stay longer?”
Her red-rimmed eyes met his, and she nodded again.
He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll give you some space. Take all the time you need.”
Mikael stood, squeezing her arm tenderly before leaving her the privacy to grieve.
Chapter eleven
Norahsatbesidethestone slab table that held Alexander. She didn’t know how much time had passed. She could only stare at him. With his pallid skin and blue-tinged lips, she couldn’t pretend he was only sleeping. His skin was cold to the touch.
How could this have happened?
She shouldn’t have come. She’d been safe in Kharav. She’d had Mikael and Soren. She’d had Alexander. Even if she’d have never seen him again, he’d still be alive.
But she’d wanted her throne back. She’d wanted vengeance.
And this was what it cost her.
